When "Bye Bye Birdie" began, I cringed. The director paid out of his own pocket to add a singing sequence at the beginning and end of the film to showcase the gorgeous Ann-Margret....but the song was just terrible. While he has a lovely voice, you'd never know it with this song--it just sounds off-key and dreadful. Well, apparently folks weren't paying attention to her singing, as the film helped to launch her career into overdrive--but I almost turned the movie off because the song was THAT bad.
What follows is a film very much inspired by Elvis Presley's induction into the army. Girl across America are apparently in hysterics because the new singing sensation, Conrad Birdie, has been drafted. However, as a publicity stunt, he is to sing a song and give a symbolic last kiss to some lucky lady (Ann-Margret). A struggling songwriter (Dick Van Dyke) is hoping that this will revive his career, as they've gotten Birdie to agree to sing his new song. Much of the film is set in the small Ohio town where the girl, her family and her screwball boyfriend live.
Compared to most musicals, this one seems to have a few more songs than usual. Some later went on to be quite famous and many are quite good. However, many are pretty annoying (other than the intro and closing songs). I really think dropping a couple of the lesser songs would have made the film flow a bit better and quickened the pace. Overall, a mildly diverting and occasionally fun film.
What follows is a film very much inspired by Elvis Presley's induction into the army. Girl across America are apparently in hysterics because the new singing sensation, Conrad Birdie, has been drafted. However, as a publicity stunt, he is to sing a song and give a symbolic last kiss to some lucky lady (Ann-Margret). A struggling songwriter (Dick Van Dyke) is hoping that this will revive his career, as they've gotten Birdie to agree to sing his new song. Much of the film is set in the small Ohio town where the girl, her family and her screwball boyfriend live.
Compared to most musicals, this one seems to have a few more songs than usual. Some later went on to be quite famous and many are quite good. However, many are pretty annoying (other than the intro and closing songs). I really think dropping a couple of the lesser songs would have made the film flow a bit better and quickened the pace. Overall, a mildly diverting and occasionally fun film.